As covered by College News yesterday, the University of South Florida was on alert after two separate incidents on campus.
A first alert went out at 1:50 p.m. EST warning students after reports of an “armed intruder” near the main campus library. Updates on USF’s Web site told students to stay inside and lock their doors. The individual in question was also reported to be armed with a gun and a bomb. Police responded quickly, searching the area and taking one Vincent Thomas-Perry McCoy into custody.
The 23-year old McCoy was said to have stood up on a university shuttle bus and informed its passengers he had a bomb. After his arrest, he explained to authorities that he was only joking. Tampa police have since searched his backpack, revealing no evidence of an explosive device according to The Tampa Tribune.
McCoy was in court early this morning and charged with making a false bomb report on state-owned property. His $7,500 bail was revoked when it was discovered he already has a pending criminal case.
McCoy was arrested earlier this year for possession of marijuana as well as theft from an elderly person.
Almost immediately after McCoy was taken into custody on campus, a second report surfaced that a man wearing a black tank top and cowboy hat was carrying a “large hunting knife” and a black puppy in the vicinity of Cooper Hall. That man was detained, but later released. USF police Lieutenant Meg Ross explained to the Tribune that the individual’s short-lived apprehension, saying that “The story I’d heard is that he was on a hunting trip.”
A St. Petersburg Times story has emerged detailing some students’ reaction to this latest scare, the third gunman report this year. While some students were reported as assuming it was a false alarm or acting as if nothing was going on, most are said to think the lockdown was appropriate.
Lt. Ross commented on the idea that the mass text messages and sirens were false alarms. “Whatever happened, we arrested someone who said he had a bomb. Had we not put it out, we would have gotten criticism from other side.”
Our Take:
A “job well done” goes out from College News to USF officials and police. Their immediate response and alerts probably kept these situations from escalating unnecessarily.
The idea that McCoy was joking when he told a bus full of people he had a bomb is laughable. Didn’t he read my article on what NOT to do while pulling a prank? Bombs are not funny. You’ll just end up getting arrested.
For the man in the cowboy hat carrying a hunting knife and puppy, I have one question: How were you holding these particular items that concerned an individual enough to call the police? Shouldn’t your knife be in a backpack? I don’t think your “hunting trip” extended to campus-grounds.
I hope that USF officials continue to send out these helpful alerts and that students continue to take these warnings seriously. They save lives.
